Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chicon 7 Confirms High Turnout for Hugo Awards Ballot, Announces More Ceremony Details

Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), today issued more information on the final Hugo Awards Ballot, along with additional information on the Hugo Awards Ceremony taking place on Sunday, September 2, 2012.

A total of 1922 valid final ballots were received, representing a 37.7% turnout. The figure of 1922 is the second highest ballot count in history after Renovation, the 2011 Worldcon. Chicon 7 previously announced an all-time record of 1101 nominating ballots, highlighting the ever-increasing interest and support for the Hugo Awards.

The 2012 Hugo Award winners will be announced on Sunday evening, September 2, at a formal ceremony in the Hyatt Regency Grand Ballroom. At Chicon 7's invitation, the host for the night will be Chicon 7's Toastmaster, Hugo and Campbell Award-winning author and blogger John Scalzi. Members can look forward to Scalzi's inimitable combination of insight, humor and sheer coolness throughout an exciting and entertaining event.

The Hugo Award ceremony will start at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live around the world via Ustream at www.ustream.tv/channel/worldcon1. In addition, the official Hugo Awards site (www.TheHugoAwards.org) will provide live text coverage via CoverItLive. The CoverItLive broadcast will be hosted by former Worldcon Co-Chairman Kevin Standlee and Campbell Award Nominee Mur Lafferty.

It is a Worldcon tradition that while the Hugo trophy itself always takes the form of a silver rocket, the base on which it stands is unique to each year. The 2012 Hugo Award base has been designed by Deb Kosiba, who previously designed the trophy bases for the 2005 and 2006 awards. Ms. Kosiba will be revealing and discussing the base design at the Chicon 7 Opening Ceremony on Thursday, August 30, and members are encouraged to attend for a first look at this coveted item.

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction and fantasy literature and media as well as the genre's fans. The awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon") in Philadelphia (Philcon II), and Worldcons have continued to present the awards annually for nearly 60 years.

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